‘Dear Me’: James Woods Writes to His Younger Self

For its new book, “Dear Me,” Atria Books asked celebrities to write a letter to their 16-year-old selves. The book includes reproductions of actual letters and personal photos. Here’s the letter from actor James Woods.

Dear Jimmy,

Don’t change a thing really.

Just enjoy the fruits of life and take the hard knocks. One has no meaning without the other.

You have been blessed with a simple trick to make the best of life. It is a Woods family secret: treat everyone with respect and demand it of them as well. If someone abuses you more than once, you deserve it.

Call someone in your family every day of your life. You may think it is tedious to do so, but a time will come when you would give your life to make that call one more time.

Hug your mother often and tell her how much you love her.

Do good work and do it because it is a gift to the world. No matter how inconsequential others may feel about the value of your contribution, it is the giving that matters. The surprise here will be that the beneficiary who gains the most when you give is you.

Be proud, but humble. Be strong, but caring. Listen more than you may be inclined to do. Talk less.

And most importantly, call your brother on July 26, 2006 and tell him he must go to a different hospital.

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